UK carbon pricing after Brexit

Ember's response to a joint consultation by the UK and Devolved Administrations regarding carbon pricing post-Brexit, arguing that the UK should prioritize remaining in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) or implement a carbon tax over creating a standalone UK ETS.

• The UK's primary objective for international climate action should be to stay within the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to maintain a shared European approach to carbon pricing. Within this framework, the UK should advocate for an EU-wide auction reserve price to mitigate market volatility.
• Ember opposes the creation of a standalone UK ETS, citing risks that such a market would be non-functional, subject to high volatility, and influenced by speculators, which could lead to a decade of insufficient green investment.
• If the UK is forced to leave the EU ETS, it should seek a linked system or attempt to rejoin. During such negotiations, a carbon tax should be applied to aviation, industry, and power, with a price floor based on the average EU ETS carbon price from the previous year.
• Carbon pricing is viewed as a tool to guide clean investment but is not a complete solution; achieving net zero emissions in the UK will necessitate significant public funding and direct regulation.

APA

Ember (2019). UK carbon pricing after Brexit. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/uk-carbon-pricing-after-brexit

Chicago

Ember. UK carbon pricing after Brexit. 2019. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/uk-carbon-pricing-after-brexit.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Ember |title=UK carbon pricing after Brexit |date=21 July 2019 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/uk-carbon-pricing-after-brexit |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{ember2019carbon, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{UK carbon pricing after Brexit}}, publisher = {Ember}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/uk-carbon-pricing-after-brexit}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }